Regarding the Inspection and Quarantine Requirements for Export of Pet Foods from New Zealand to China

According to the regulations of the Chinese Customs and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries regarding quarantine and sanitary requirements for pet food exported to China, effective immediately, the import of New Zealand pet food meeting the following requirements is permitted:

I. Inspection and Quarantine Basis

(1) The Biosafety Law of the People's Republic of China;

(2) The Law of the People's Republic of China on Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine and its implementing regulations;

(3) The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Inspection and Quarantine of Imported and Exported Feed and Feed Additives;

(4) Memorandum of Understanding between the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China and the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries on Quarantine and Sanitary Requirements for Pet Food Exported from New Zealand to China.

II. Scope of Permitted Imported Products

Pet food refers to industrially processed and produced products intended for direct consumption by pets, including dried pet food, canned pet food, pet snacks, pet rolls, pet nutritional supplements, and chewable products.

III. Disease Control Requirements

(I) Key Diseases

Including: Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, scrapie, and chronic wasting diseases.

If any of the above-mentioned diseases occur in New Zealand, the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries shall immediately suspend all pet food exports to China. After Chinese Customs completes a risk assessment and lifts the relevant disease ban, and upon mutual agreement, pet food that meets the requirements may resume exports to China.

(II) Other Diseases.

Including: Highly pathogenic avian influenza, Rift Valley fever, rinderpest, vesicular stomatitis, anthrax, bluetongue, brucellosis (Brucella abortus and Brucella marta), Newcastle disease, African swine fever, swine vesicular disease, classical swine fever, and foot-and-mouth disease.

If any of the above-mentioned diseases occur in New Zealand, the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries shall immediately suspend the export of pet food containing animal ingredients related to the disease produced by enterprises within the relevant disease control area to China, and provide relevant technical materials to Chinese Customs. After Chinese Customs conducts an assessment, and upon mutual agreement, affected pet food enterprises may resume exports to China.

IV. Requirements for Raw Materials and Source Animals

(i) Feeding ruminant animals with ruminant-derived protein is prohibited (except for milk). According to law, veterinary drugs and feed additives prohibited in China or New Zealand are not permitted.

(ii) Terrestrial animal raw materials (excluding dairy raw materials and refining raw materials) must meet the following requirements:

1. The source animal was born and raised in New Zealand;

2. If farmed, the animal must have undergone pre- and post-slaughter testing and show no symptoms of any of the aforementioned animal diseases on the day of slaughter, and be suitable for pet food production;

3. If the animal is a hunted or captured wild animal, it must comply with New Zealand regulations on the supply of wild animal-derived food products, be assessed as a healthy individual, and not be an endangered species;

4. It must not originate from animals that died due to animal diseases, or from animals that were urgently slaughtered due to disease eradication programs;

5. It must be produced by an enterprise approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and comply with New Zealand's relevant laws, regulations, and regulatory requirements for pet food safety and hygiene.

(iii) Dairy raw materials must meet the following requirements:

1. They must originate from healthy animals born or raised in New Zealand;

2. They must be processed by an enterprise approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and comply with New Zealand's relevant regulations on animal food products;

3. The raw milk used in the product has undergone heat processing, and/or the raw milk has been heat-processed at a minimum of 72ºC for at least 15 seconds (or equivalent).

(iv) Aquatic animal raw materials must meet the following requirements:

1. The source aquatic animals must be free of infectious disease symptoms;

2. The animals must not have been urgently slaughtered due to an infectious disease eradication program;

3. The processing must be carried out in an enterprise/vessel approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and must comply with relevant New Zealand regulations for animal food products.

(v) In addition to the above requirements, imported animal raw materials must be legally imported from countries and regions that meet New Zealand biosafety requirements and are approved by Chinese customs, and must be quarantined and suitable for pet food production. Ruminant animal-derived raw materials must not originate from countries and regions where China has implemented a ban on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE).

(vi) Plant-derived raw materials must meet phytosanitary requirements, must not contain toxic or harmful substances or ingredients prohibited by New Zealand regulations, and must not contain genetically modified ingredients not approved by the Chinese government.

(vii) Refined animal raw materials must comply with relevant New Zealand laws, regulations, and safety and hygiene requirements and must be suitable for pet food production.

V. Requirements for Production and Processing Enterprises

Pet food production and processing enterprises exporting to China containing terrestrial and/or aquatic animal raw materials must meet the following requirements:

(i) Approved and legally operating by the New Zealand competent authority;

(ii) Operating in accordance with a risk management plan based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries;

(iii) Verified by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries that its production and processing comply with relevant New Zealand safety and hygiene regulations;

(iv) Recommended by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and registered with Chinese Customs.

VI. Production and Processing Requirements

(i) Commercially Aseptic Pet Food.

1. Processed under high temperature and pressure, with an F0 value of not less than 3.0;

2. Employing appropriate sealing methods, and the production process has been verified to achieve commercial asepticity;

3. Other processing methods must be approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and recognized by Chinese Customs.

(ii) Heat-Processed Dried Pet Food.

1. Extruded dried pet food must have a core temperature of not less than 100ºC during the extrusion or drying process.

2. Other heat-processed pet food (excluding commercial sterile pet food, extruded dried pet food, and chewable pet food) must be processed according to the methods specified in the appendix.

3. If a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak occurs in New Zealand, pet food exported to China must meet the following requirements:

(1) Raw materials from foot-and-mouth disease control areas must not be used;

(2) It must undergo heat processing at a core temperature of not less than 70ºC for a duration of not less than 30 minutes.

4. Other processing methods must be approved by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries and recognized by Chinese Customs.

(iii) Chewable products.

They must undergo heat processing at a core temperature of not less than 75ºC for a duration of not less than 30 minutes, and be verified to effectively kill pathogenic bacteria, including Salmonella, and fungal vegetative cells; or be soaked in an alkaline solution with a pH of 14 for at least 8 hours.

VII. Product Requirements

(I) Approved for sale in the New Zealand market;

(II) Possessing a traceability system that meets New Zealand requirements;

(III) Complying with relevant New Zealand regulatory requirements, and simultaneously complying with Chinese laws and regulations regarding the management of prohibited substances, toxic and hazardous substances, and pollutants, as well as relevant food safety standards;

(IV) Before exporting pet food to China, companies producing pet food containing aquatic and/or terrestrial animal ingredients should establish a validated processing procedure that meets the following requirements:

1. Commercially sterile pet food meets the requirements for commercial sterility;

2. Non-commercial sterile pet food must meet the following requirements:

Salmonella: Not detected in 25 grams: n=5, c=0, m=0, M=0;

Where:

n – Number of samples tested;

c – Number of samples with bacterial counts between m and M. If the bacterial counts of other samples are less than or equal to m, the result is still considered acceptable;

m – Minimum bacterial count (threshold). If the bacterial count in all samples does not exceed m, the result is acceptable;

M – Maximum bacterial count. If one or more samples have a bacterial count equal to or greater than M, the result is unacceptable.

VIII. Packaging, Labeling, and Storage and Transportation Requirements

(I) Packaging materials must be new, clean, and have good sealing and moisture-proof properties, and be not easily damaged.

(II) Packaging must be labeled in both Chinese and English, and the labels must comply with relevant Chinese labeling regulations for imported pet food.

(III) The outer packaging must clearly indicate the name and address of the production and processing enterprise, its registration number, and the country of export, and must be labeled "非供人类食用" or "仅限宠物食品用".

(IV) Effective measures must be taken during the storage and transportation of pet food to prevent external contamination.

IX. Pre-export Inspection and Certificate Requirements

Pet food exported to China shall be subject to inspection and quarantine by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries. Each batch of pet food exported to China containing terrestrial and/or aquatic animal raw materials must be accompanied by at least one original health certificate.

X. Import Inspection and Quarantine Requirements

(I) Quarantine Approval.

Importing enterprises shall obtain an "Import Permit for Animals and Plants" in accordance with relevant regulations.

(II) Document Verification.

1. Verify whether an "Import Permit for Animals and Plants" is attached as required;

2. Verify whether the product originates from a registered enterprise;

3. Verify the authenticity and validity of the health certificate.

(III) Cargo Inspection. In accordance with relevant laws, administrative regulations, and rules, and in accordance with the requirements of this announcement, Chinese Customs will conduct inspection and quarantine on pet food imported from New Zealand. Products that pass inspection and quarantine will be permitted entry.

(IV) Handling of Non-Compliant Items

1. Products will be returned or destroyed if any of the following conditions apply: lack of a valid health certificate; originating from a non-registered New Zealand manufacturer; discrepancies between goods and documents; discovery of soil, animal carcasses, animal excrement, or quarantine pests, making effective quarantine treatment impossible; or labeling that does not meet standards and cannot be corrected.

2. Products found to be non-compliant with Chinese pet food hygiene standards will be subject to pest control, return, or destruction.

3. If loose packages or broken containers are found, the owner or agent is responsible for restoring them to their original condition. If the packaging is damaged and poses a risk of spreading animal or plant diseases, the contaminated site, goods, and equipment should be quarantined.

4. For manufacturers experiencing serious problems or repeated non-compliance issues, Chinese customs may suspend their export licenses to China.

GACC

January 13, 2026

Processing Temperature and Time Requirements

The processing temperature and time requirements for other heat-processed pet foods (excluding commercial sterile pet foods, extruded dry pet foods, and chewable products) are as follows: